WhisperGen test room helping heat central Christchurch pool
11 October 2006
Christchurch City Council and WhisperGen, the manufacturer of combined heat and power (“microCHP”) systems for homes and boats, have made a connection which is helping heat the city’s Centennial Pool.
The arrangement suits both parties, with the Council getting a cheaper heat source and the company making good use (and a small potential return) of a by-product of its test and production facilities.
Before each WhisperGen microCHP unit is boxed and shipped it is run up and tested at the firm’s Armagh Street plant. Other units on the site run continuously as part of various research and development programmes. With up to 40 units running at any time, a lot of electricity and heat in the form of hot water is being produced. The electricity goes into the Orion network and, until now, the heat was being lost to the atmosphere through a cooling tower on the roof.
The City Council has paid to connect its Centennial Pool complex to WhisperGen’s cooling system. The excess hot water is piped under the street to the pool’s plant room and through a heat exchanger, helping to heat the pool water.
The savings made will pay off the Council’s investment within two years. After that, WhisperGen will be entitled to half the savings made as a result of using its excess heat.
The Centennial complex already has a very energy efficient heating system, using a ground source heat pump which takes heat from water running through the city’s mains water supply. The WhisperGen arrangement is simply connected to the same plant and is not complicated to manage.
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